


Epilogue: After Him

by Jessiebulby



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Character Death, Ella <3, Happy Ending, I dreamed it, Langst, Merpeople, My dreams are fanfic material, Original Character(s), Public Execution, Super langsty, War, maybe? - Freeform, mermaid, mermaid lance, sad fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 01:45:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13893618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jessiebulby/pseuds/Jessiebulby
Summary: Space was beautiful and full of mysteries. Lance could still remember Pidge and Hunk discovering new unexplained phenomenon, or his former team meeting new interesting alien species. But these memories hurt him now, because space had become an awful place in his mind. Space, and other species, and fighting for the greater good… he hated all that. All he wanted was to be happy again with his family from Earth, Team Voltron and the merpeople.orAfter the war ended, the Paladins and Alteans have been betrayed by their allies. Forced to fly away and separate, Lance comes back to a place he visited long ago, a place safe and warm. He thought he could live happily amongst them for the rest of his life... But he was wrong.





	1. Chapter 1 - Broken Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> This fic was inspired by a dream I made a few months ago. It is langsty and have a bit of mermaid!Lance in it :) I wrote it for Princess-of-neptune's birthday :P 
> 
> I will post at least one chapter per week, probably every tuesday. 
> 
> I hope you'll like it! 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!
> 
> Tumblr: prettygoo-d

Years had passed. Many years…

 

Team Voltron fought their hardest, their bond with each other becoming unbreakable. Unlocking incredible powers with their Lions. The Paladins, their Lions and Voltron, the sign of hope and peace, became feared by evildoers. The Coalition had gained so many followers that their fight against the Galra Empire finally reached its end. The Coalition rallied tons of new planets and species all over the universe, including Earth. The Intergalactic Government, or IG, was created after a few months of seemingly well-established peace. But that was a mistake…

 

They had been betrayed. The IG had taken control of it all, forced the allies under their power, enslaving even certain races who tried to oppose them. Team Voltron had tried so hard to fight back, to save their allies and themselves, but in the end they had been forced to abandon their Lions and escape their separate ways. They couldn’t run away to Earth, it was too dangerous to be found there.

 

Lance loved his family deeply, whether it was his home world’s family or his space family. He liked the feeling of belonging and the love that came with it. Being forced away from both had hit him hard. He had felt depressed and lonely for a few long phoebs, travelling from planet to planet in his small stolen ship just to try and find a safe place where he could settle. There was this one planet he had visited decaphoebs ago… One of the first he had helped save, but it wasn’t from the Galra that time. He remembered how both Hunk and him were inexperienced and carefree at that time. He missed the big guy. Last time he saw him, and the others too in fact, he was running away to the old Balmera to hide for a while and then probably take Shay with him to find somewhere else to hide. They were so close to each other and Hunk needed support in these hard times. Staying on the Balmera for too long was too risky, Hunk knew it. But it had been decaphoebs since then. Lance doubted he would ever see him again.

 

After phoebs of fruitless research, Lance had finally found what he was looking for. It was a miracle to have finally got his hands on it. It was a biotechnological device that allowed him to shapeshift, super rare and crazily expensive. The device could only be used from one species to another one species, and the transformation wouldn’t be complete, but he would gain the main features. After a difficult bargaining process, Lance had exchanged his Bayard for it, his last memento from his time as a Paladin of Voltron.

 

He could still remember Allura giving them their Bayard the first time like it was yesterday. If he had known teasing Pidge’s Bayard would result in a painful electrical shock, he would’ve kept his mouth shut. Pidge… Allura…

 

Pidge had escaped like everyone else, having to once again be apart from her family as a decree of death sentence was put on her and the other Paladins. And the condemnation didn’t mean spending the rest of their lives in jail or something peaceful like that. No. More like being executed publicly and shown through all the universe, Earth included. Lance couldn’t let that happen, at least for himself. He preferred dying a hero, or even dying alone, than letting his family see him being executed publicly. All him and his team had ever wanted was to bring peace to the universe. It had worked, for a while… until a group of people, aliens and humans, with a lot of money and power, had decided that they wanted to have control over them and the allied planet. They didn’t see others as equals, they saw them as slaves, unworthy inferior beings, or low-cost working mass. A kind of thinking pretty familiar to their former enemy. They had seen the signs, had had doubts, had tried to peacefully fight their thinking and actions with words, but they had let their naïve minds believe that they had truly brought peace to the universe and that now nothing really bad could happen again.

 

And then, their supposed allies, the IG itself had attacked them, knowing that their team would never agree to their thinking. To them, they now represented a terrible menace for their plans, and that’s why they had decided to eliminate them beforehand. Allura had sacrificed herself to let Coran and the Paladins escape. Lance would never forget her enlarged physical shape protecting them from the relentless attacks aiming for their lives. She had died on the ship they had stolen to escape the IG Headquarters. Lance had never seen Coran cried this much in his entire life. In fact, with all the losses they had experienced through the war, Allura’s death had been the worst of them all.

 

Even in her last moments, she had had brilliant eyes still full of fight and hope. She had told them to find refuge somewhere and seek happiness even in these sorrowful circumstances, adding that there would come a time for them to fight back.

 

Lance had almost lost hope in her words. But when he had found the shapeshifting biotech device, he had felt like maybe there was still a chance for him to be happy again. So, he had gone to this planet, and this community that could only be described as safe and warm.

 

—

 

“There have been increasing sightings of IG ships around our system, your Majesty. The situation seems to be getting riskier,” Matus announced.

 

Matus was the right hand of the Merpeople’s ruler. He was his most trusted fellow and his brother-in-law. He was an honest and organized person. He made sure to facilitate the King’s work.

 

“Matus, how many times do I have to tell you? The name’s Lance, so just call me by my name already. We’re family, for quiznack’s sake,” the former Blue Paladin complained.

 

“And, as I answer every single time, I can’t, your Majesty. Your title is sacred and everyone who addresses you must do so in respect,” Matus replied.

 

“I’ll make you change your mind someday! Anyway, what’s the ships' building status?” Lance asked.

 

“It is going well. Most of them are ready for departure,” Matus replied.

 

“And the shapeshifting biotech devices?” Lance asked.

 

“All ready to be used. The samples we took as DNA material were enough for every device,” Matus informed him.

 

“Good. Good! How many days until the ships are ready for departure?” Lance asked.

 

“We estimated a full week, your Majesty. Do you wish to fasten the building of the ships?” Matus asked.

 

“No, I know our people are already working way over their limits. We can’t put more pressure on them. Especially…” Lance started, his tone becoming heavy.

 

“Your Majesty, may I remind you that you do not have any reason to feel guilt for our need to escape. The IG would have come for us one day anyway,” Matus told him, as if reading his mind.

 

Lance looked at his trusted friend, finding comfort in the honesty in his eyes.

 

“Lance! How’s it going, buddy?” One muscly mermaid asked as she grabbed him by the neck and started ruffling his hair.

 

“No, Rolia! You’ll make them all mingled!” Lance complained.

 

“Sorry… _Your Majesty_ ,” she teased him. “No, really, my girlfriend did a pretty good job with your… your tiny fibre thingies?”

 

“Hair,” Lance corrected. “And yeah, it’s pretty awesome.”

 

Lance had had to cut most of his hair to give enough DNA material for the shapeshifting biotech devices in order to allow his people to live outside the water and in space when they would leave their planet to escape from the incoming IG forces. Now he had a large side cut with patterns into them, and shoulder-length slightly curly hair for the rest. It was Blumfump who was in charge of creating the devices. At first, Lance had doubted the merman, because his theories regarding the Queen the first time they met had been all wrong, but, in fact, the guy just had a wild imagination. He was truly a good scientist and engineer. In the few years Lance had been gone, Blumfump had changed his people’s lives by guiding an innovation team. They now had electricity and spaceships and other awesome technological stuff.

 

“I can only agree,” a smooth feminine voice said behind him.

 

He recognized it right away. It was the voice of an angel, the voice of the woman he loved. His wife, Plaxum, was the most beautiful of the mermaids and the most beautiful woman in the whole universe in his eyes. She used to be Queen Luxia’s right hand, but the Queen had fallen ill. When Lance had joined the merpeople, Queen Luxia had seen it as a sign and decided to choose him as her successor. At first, he had refused. Yeah, Lance, Mr. Attention-Seeker himself, had refused to be King. Since he was young, he had always dreamed of receiving such a title and be acknowledged as someone important by everyone, but, honestly, he didn’t feel worthy enough. There was also the fact that he wasn’t a native merman. However, the Queen’s decision had been taken seriously by the merpeople. The title had mostly been forced upon him, but at least everyone had accepted the change. It had been hard at first. Like _really_ hard, because he had had to learn how things worked there and how to be a merman King. He used to be a great Paladin with fine flying skills and good diplomatic experience. Now, his life was completely different. But he soon got more comfortable and felt like he belonged. The merpeople were few, less than a thousand, and they all treated him like he was one of them as soon as he had arrived. And there was Plaxum, whom he had met before. She guided him during the power transition. He had already fallen for her a bit years ago. At that time, their lives had forced them apart, so there had been no way for Lance to develop more than a small crush on her. However, once he was back, he hadn’t been able to help himself, he flirted with her all the time.

 

She smiled every time, even if she wasn’t answering his advances at first, and her smile was the cutest. She was strong and beautiful and intelligent… She had a contagious laugh and a curvy blue silhouette. Soon enough, he couldn’t continue to only flirt with her. He needed to get serious. So he had invited her to a romantic dinner.

 

At first, she had thought that he was messing around, as usual, but the way he had asked wasn’t in his usual flirty tone. It was a real question and he had blushed and stuttered and it was terrible… But it was cute and she had agreed. Lance had been so nervous for the following weeks as they started dating. As for Plaxum, she dealt with their new relationship really smoothly. She was confident, and he liked it so much, because it wasn’t like his own false confidence. It wasn’t that she was cocky or unashamed either, she just truly knew her worth. It inspired Lance so much to improve his self-esteem and become a stronger King for his people.

 

This place became his home and he was now part of another family he loved deeply.

 

“Hey, Beautiful…” he greeted Plaxum as he swam quickly to her, and kissed her tenderly.

 

Suddenly, something hit him full force from the side.

 

“Daddy!” the joyful young merboy who had tackled him yelled.

 

“Azulito! What did I say about tackling people?” Plaxum reprimanded her son.

 

“But dad is different, he’s strong!” Azulito complained. 

 

“Not stronger than me though!” Rolia said loudly, taking the young boy away from his father, and turning him around a few times.

 

Azulito screamed happily, and that left Lance some time to recover. He might only be 5 decaphoebs old, but Azul was really quick and strong for his age. He looked mostly like his wife, with his skin being blue near his shoulder and down his tail. His upper body was more human-like where he had Lance’s light brown skin. He also had his father’s blue eyes, but they were a little bigger and their white had an interesting tint of dark blue. They were made to look farther and in darker environments than the human eye could. Lance’s own shapeshifted eyes had that appearance. Azul also had short human hair, that were also the same colour Lance’s. He was different, but people liked difference here. The more you stood out in this community, the more people were interested in you. They were truly open-minded, and Lance was happy he had found such a happy place to live at.

 

“Are you done with work now, Love?” Plaxum asked.

 

“Yes, he is,” Matus answered in his stead.

 

“Are you joining us for dinner, Matus? I’m sure the little monster would like to play with you,” Lance teased him, knowing that Matus was always really uncomfortable with children.

 

Yet, every time he played with Azul, he never complained and you could see that he still had a lot of affection for his sister’s merchild.

 

Matus was his most trusted friend, because he cared more than anyone about his people. That was also the reason he had never sought love, because he believed that to ensure everyone’s happiness he had to give all he had as the King’s right hand, and so he needed to sacrifice his personal life. Lance had tried so hard to introduce him to beautiful merpeople and get him to enjoy life more, but he was too stubborn, even more than him, which was truly something. At least, Lance was sure that he could count on him when it came to his most important task as the merpeople’s King, and that was to do anything he could to ensure their protection.

 

“Yes, he will!” Plaxum decided before her brother could even think about refusing.

 

“Alright, but I must go back to my duties right after. We still have many aspects to verify before our departure,” he agreed.

 

“Rolia, would you and Ella like to join us too?” Plaxum asked.

 

Said mermaid turned her attention away from the little boy she was playing with. One day, Rolia would make a really good mother. Ella, the love of her life, was a lovely gorgeous mermaid who sure rocked a red lipstick. She was Plaxum’s best friend, and one of the nicest people Lance had ever met. He wasn’t particularly close to her, but she was still a good friend to him too. Her and Rolia made a great couple, the type that will last forever.

 

“Yeah, sure! I’ll tell Ella,” she replied.

 

The small group went to the Castle, smiling, talking, laughing... Rolia and him even raced at some point. Obviously Rolia won, she was the most physically powerful of all the merpeople to Lance’s knowledge. Still, he always liked to race her, to push his limits as a merman. Lance loved the feeling of water against his skin and the strength of his tail as he swam freely in the water. It was something he never got tired of. The Shapeshifting device had really made miracles. He could do almost everything the other merpeople could. It felt like a second nature to him now. Lance was so happy with this lifestyle and his merfamily. He hoped it would stay this way until he died of age or something like that. He had always wanted to go heroically, but now he simply wanted for his life to remain this peaceful and joyful until the end. War and being hunted by the entire universe really could change a person.

 

In the middle of their dinner, Swirn, who was Rolia’s second in command in the protection forces, arrived to the Castle’s dining room with a fearful expression.

 

“King Lance, I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner, but I have terrible news. The IG ships we spotted have locked their trajectories onto us,” she announced as the room fell completely silent. “They’ll have reached us in about 2 quintents.”

 

And that was how Lance’s peace was shattered and would never ever come back the same again…


	2. Chapter 2 - Painful Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!!
> 
> The Merpeople have to escape the IG ships, but at what cost? 
> 
> Since i have a photoshoot on tuesday, I won't be able to post a new chapter that day, so I decided to post one today instead!
> 
> It's super sad, you've been warned! I hope you'll like it!
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Thanks!!
> 
> Tumblr: prettygoo-d

“Your Majesty, we have to go now or else we won’t be able to escape the IG ships,” Matus informed him as they were still outside the ships, helping the last of the people get in. As soon as they had confirmed the arrival of the IG ships, they had demanded to speed up the ships’ building and the distribution of the shapeshifting devices. The people were forced to make their bags quickly and start boarding the ships. They had to leave before they were caught. Their lives depended on it.  
  


“Everyone on board, now!” Lance shouted.

  
The last Merpeople made their way inside immediately. Lance entered the main ship once everyone was in.

  
As soon as he was in, he closed the door. Everyone activated their shapeshifting devices as soon as the water inside started to drain. Lance removed his. At least, they had made clothes, for Lance’s sake. The Merpeople didn’t understand why they needed to cover their bodies, but Lance was glad that they still agreed to put on clothes once they were part human. So, Lance wasn’t left naked for too long, Matus handing him a t-shirt and pants right away, knowing how the former Blue Paladin felt uncomfortable with his human appearance not covered.

  
“Lance! Lance!” he heard Plaxum yell from a few metres away from him.

  
She struggled to reach him, not used to having legs, but looking desperate. Lance knew something was wrong, so he stumbled to reach her, concerned, but also not used to walking anymore. Gosh, she was even more beautiful with her traits humanlike. She had beautiful dark blue eyes and her skin was pale like a pearl with a blue glint in some places where her normal tone was darker. Her hair was the same. She only wore a small dress that looked really good on her. She was stunning, but the fear and desperation in her eyes brought Lance back to reality almost immediately.

  
“What’s going on, Beautiful?” he asked.

  
“It’s Azul, I can’t find him!” She said.

  
Lance’s heart seemed to skip a beat. No…

  
“I saw him enter the ship. He was with the caretakers…” Lance replied.

  
“It’s one of the them who told me. They lost him! I searched everywhere! He’s not on the ship!” she shouted, panicked.

  
No.

  
“Maybe he’s on another ship. We’ll find him there’s no way he’s still outside…” Lance said, uncertain.

  
“The ship’s technology can count the people on board,” Bumflump said reaching the duo, hearing their conversation. “You just have to ask it’s integrated AI,” he added.

  
“Ship? How many people are aboard all ships?” Lance asked hesitantly.

  
“There. Are. 923 people. Aboard.” They answered.

  
No!

  
“Ship! Is my son, Azulito McClain, aboard?” Lance yelled, his heart pounding fast and hard in his chest, fear coursing through his veins like poison, already expecting the terrible news.

  
Swirn, Ella and Rolia had joined them as well, hearing the commotion. The AI took more time for this analysis, and feared he’d have to search the 3 huge ships himself.

  
“Azulito. McClain. Isn’t. aboard.” The ship answered.

  
Plaxum fell to the ground in a crying heap. Lance turned around and started running to the door. The ship’s engines were already activated.

  
“Your Majesty, no!” Matus yelled, Rolia and him intercepting Lance as he was about to reach the door. “The ship is already taking off.”

  
“I don’t care! I have to get him! He’s my son, I can’t leave him behind!” Lance shouted, desperately fighting against Matus and Rolia’s grip on him.

  
“If you interrupt the process, it will affect all the ship’s systems and we might not be able to escape the incoming IG ships. We can’t… we can’t save him. It’s too late...” Matus started crying.

  
Matus wasn’t one to show emotion. He was mostly serious and neutral. But the sobs escaping his body came from some deeper part of him. Rolia and Lance started crying too. Lance didn’t lessen his attempt to reach the door anyway.

  
“Please, just let me out and escape by yourselves. I can’t abandon him… He’s only 5… only 5…” Lance cried.

  
“I’m sorry, I can’t let you do that…” Matus replied. “You are our King, we need you.”

  
“And I need him…” Lance retorted, feeling more and more discouraged as the ships were leaving the water and flying toward space at an increasing speed. “No… No! I hate you… I hate you all! Why wasn’t he on the ship? Who let him out?!” He yelled, sad and furious at the same time.

  
“It was my fault,” a small voice said.

  
Lance turned his head towards the voice. A small girl accompanied by one of the caretakers. The small girl had a yellow tint and looked the same age as Azul.

  
“I forgot the seashell he gave me last week. He went to get it for me… I didn’t know… I’m sorry,” the little girl cried.

  
Lance let the tears fall freely, turning his head away. Azul was already a flirt, just like his father used to be, and because of that Lance had lost him.

  
“It’s not your fault, Sweety,” Plaxum told her, voice heavy with emotions.

  
Lance blamed the little girl, blamed himself, blamed everyone, and even his wife. Why had nobody seen him leave? How could he have left without no one noticing in time? But he knew that accidents could happen in time of chaos and fear. Everyone had been preoccupied with their escape. And Lance’s son was good at hiding and such. He would have made a great ninja sharpshooter probably, but now there was a low chance that his son would even make it past a phoeb, or even past a few movements. He was too young, didn’t know the basic survival skills. And he would be alone, without any support. His son would die alone, left behind by his friends and family, his entire community. They had all failed one of their own, a young child, and the King’s son at that. The guilt that they all felt was still nothing to Lance’s.

  
“We escaped the IG ships. We are safe now,” Swirn announced hesitantly.

  
“Good.” Lance said simply after a few long ticks, and left without saying anything else.

  
That night and the few that followed were spent in his room. He only answered to Plaxum and didn’t eat anything. Plaxum did almost the same, but still interacted with her brother and their friends.

  
After a few days isolated, Lance realized that the pain and guilt would surely never go away. When his friends saw him again, they thought they might slowly get their dear loving King back, but they were wrong. Lance would never be the same again. The traumatism of having been forced to abandon his child changed him. He became emotionless. A king only concerned for their safety, not caring about social interactions or activities or his own happiness. He didn’t have the time for this anyway. The IG still chasing them made it hard to even have a bit of free time. Plaxum never stopped loving her husband. She always remained by his side. He still loved her deeply as well, but his heart wasn’t reachable anymore.

  
It was as if Lance had left his true self behind with their planet, with their son.

  
Plaxum never heard her husband laugh again.

  
Or even see him smile like he used to.

  
As if she had lost him too.

 

—

 

“Your Majesty, the IG ships have yet again tracked us down,” Matus told him.

  
“We really need the ships repaired,” Bumflump said.

  
“And our munitions are running low,” Rolia added.

  
Their situation was getting worse and worse. They had been able to survive these past few phoebs, but the IG hunted them relentlessly. Every single time, they were found and it became harder and harder to get away from them.

  
“What are the nearest systems?” Lance asked.

  
“These are the nearest to our position, your Majesty,” Matus replied, showing a map of said systems.

  
Lance analyzed them for a few ticks. The IG ships’ position was also on the screen. They were close. Too close. The Merpeople’s ships wouldn’t be able to land on any planet, it would be too dangerous once stuck on the ground. Their situation was the direst it had ever been since they left their planet. It was almost hopeless…

  
“Bumflump, can’t your team make the essential repairs in space?” Lance asked.

  
“We could try, but it would be risky,” the scientist replied, unsure.

  
“How much risky?” Lance inquired.

  
“I’d say there’s a 66% chance that there won’t be any problem. I wouldn’t recommend it, your Majesty,” Bumflump said.

  
Lance couldn’t remember when his friend had stopped calling him by his name. He didn’t care anymore.

  
“We’ll have to deal with it. Go supervise the reparation team,” Lance decided.

  
Bunflump and the others shared an uncertain look, but there really was nothing else they could do right now. What really troubled them was how stressed Lance looked. He had been mostly emotionless and composed over the past phoebs, but now he was unusually tensed.

  
“We’ll try and hide behind these two moons. Looking at the IG ships’ current trajectories, they’ll probably pass by Leyora III, this planet’s electromagnetic currents’ range and strength are unusual and might mess up their scanners long enough for us to hide and fly away from them again. With the time it’ll give us, we will land on Prio, a few systems away. There, we’ll finish the reparations and replenish our munitions before they reach us again,” Lance announced.

  
Everyone remained silent. It was all assumptions, using their last bit of hope on the basis that everything would go well. Still they had to risk it, looking at the map, the IG ships’ position and their overall situation, there was no other option to save them. Lance was tired. He was tired of running away, of living always with the fear that they would not see tomorrow.

  
Space was beautiful and full of mysteries. Lance could still remember Pidge and Hunk discovering new unexplained phenomena, or his former team meeting interesting new alien species. But these memories hurt him now, because space had become an awful place in his mind. Space, and other species, and fighting for the greater good… he hated all that. All he wanted was to be happy again with his family from Earth, Team Voltron and the Merpeople. He wanted to see his son's smile again. To see him grow and become the new King maybe one day. But none of that would ever happen.

  
“Rolia, if the plan doesn’t work, please focus everything you have on defence. We will… We will find a way to protect everyone, and escape the IG again,” he told her.

  
“Understood,” she answered simply and left.

  
Rolia used to be so boisterous and confident, but fighting in space had made her more and more anxious. There was also the fact that she was always concerned for Lance who used to be as loud and happy as her. He was like a brother to her, but now he was only a shadow of himself.

  
“Your Majesty, when was the last time you slept?” Matus inquired once everyone else was gone, leaving the two alone in the King’s control room.

  
“Matus, keep track of the IG ships and inform me right away if other ships appear on our radar,” Lance told him, ignoring his friend’s question completely.

  
He had slept. Maybe two hours the night before, and three the night before that. He had too many responsibilities to let sleep interfere with them.

  
“Yes, your Majesty,” Matus agreed after a few long ticks.

  
“I’ll stay here and oversee everything,” Lance added.

  
Lance looked at the map again. If only they could wormhole like when he was in the Castle Ship. Again, Lance found himself thinking back to his time with the Paladins and the Alteans. It had seemed like a game almost at that time. Lance was so proud to be a Paladin. He would never forget Allura’s determination and Coran’s crazy stories. Now, Allura was gone and Coran had escaped somewhere he didn’t know like the others. They would have found a way… They would have been able to protect Lance’s people if everyone was still by his side. With them, it had always seemed like they could do the impossible. But they had been naïve, and they had paid the price hard, and still paid...

  
Matus left him too. Now that he was alone, Lance felt somewhat better. He couldn’t stand everyone’s pitying gazes anymore. He cared about them, but Lance refused to accept his son’s loss and his people’s inexorable demise. They might not have the IG’s resources and technologies, but they still lived, and that’s all they needed to keep fighting. Lance took out his old space phone. It was the only thing he had left to communicate with his former teammates. They had said to call if anything happened that could be life-threatening, but Lance knew that the IG ships were too close now and would probably track the call’s signal right away, putting his friends in danger as well. No. If he was to fall, he would do so without bringing any more people down with him.

  
That’s when an idea came to his mind. He typed on the computer in front of him. Fortunately, he was alone, so no one could stop him, and they still hadn’t changed their trajectory yet, so the ships close to them would not discover their former plan if his new plan didn’t work. He sent a call to the IG ships. He anxiously waited for one of them to answer.

  
“Hi, King Lance, or should I say, former Blue Paladin. I am Commander Hart of the IG,” someone finally greeted him, appearing on the screen.

  
The man was human, but some traits had been changed to look like other aliens, probably ones with innate fighting abilities, because of a shapeshifting device like Lance had used or some freaky interspecies experiments the IG was now crazy about. Commander Hart looked almost partially reptilian now.

  
“I want to make a deal,” Lance announced, serious.

  
“A deal? What could you possibly offer that would save your miserable lives?” the Commander laughed.

  
The man really had an annoying laugh, the type that made Lance want to punch him in the face just to shut him up. At least, he wasn’t in the same room as the Commander, so that wouldn’t happen by accident.

  
“Simple, my life for my people’s safety,” Lance offered, taking out a small gun and inspecting it to make a point. “I know it’ll be more profitable for you to execute me publicly. If you attack my ships, I will kill myself and you won’t have the pleasure to show my death to the entire universe. If you agree, I’ll surrender myself to you.”

  
There was silence for a few ticks, the Commander was evaluating Lance’s offer.

  
“That’s really tempting, indeed. Unfortunately, I can’t ensure your ships’ safety. However, I can let them escape this once.”

  
“I want their safety,” Lance reiterated, decisive. “I’m sure you can see to that with the prize and fame you’ll gain from capturing me, the former Blue Paladin of Voltron.”

  
The IG commander looked thoughtful for a moment before he let out another annoying short laugh.

  
“Alright then,” he agreed.

  
“There’s also one more thing that I want. A Merpeople’s Blood Pact, so that if you don’t respect our deal, you’ll die too,” Lance demanded.

  
Now, Commander Hart appeared angry. The asshole… He thought he could play him. Still, the man had a chance he didn’t want to miss in front of him.

  
“Agreed. When and where do you wish to conclude the deal?” Commander Hart asked.

  
There was an advantage to Blood Pacts, the people didn’t have to be present at the same place to do it.

  
“Here and now for the Blood Pact, and once it’s done, I’ll meet you alone on Leyora III,” Lance announced.

  
Lance pushed a button on his keyboard to activate another call. Matus appeared on the screen right away.

  
“Matus, I need you here now,” he told him simply.

  
Matus arrived a few ticks later. When he noticed the IG Commander on the screen in front of Lance, fear coursed through his veins, but he remained composed. Was it truly the end of their people?

  
Lance explained briefly what had been decided. At each word, Matus’s heart sank even more.

  
“No… No! Your Majesty, this is madness! You can’t do that! You can’t abandon us!” Matus yelled, which was unusual for him.

  
It was the second time Matus ever lost his composure in front of Lance. It touched the former Blue Paladin, because Matus was his most trusted friend and cared more than anyone else about his people. And yet there he was, concerned about him even if it was the best solution to ensure that everyone would survive... well, except him.

  
“My decision has been made, Matus. Please respect it and proceed with the Pact’s procedure,” Lance replied.

  
Only native Merpeople could do a Blood Pact to Lance’s knowledge. Good thing, he was their King.

  
“But… What about Plaxum?” Matus asked.

  
Lance’s heart skipped a beat at her name. She would never forgive him. She would have lost both her son and her husband because of the IG. But, at least, she would be safe, she would live. She would still have her friends and brother to support her.

  
“Proceed,” Lance demanded simply and serious, not looking at Matus’ pleading eyes anymore.

  
Matus trembled as he did what the King had demanded. He felt like he was failing in his duties, like he was failing himself. Lance was someone he looked up to, someone dear to him like kin. He wouldn’t have wished for a better husband for his sister, a better King for his people, a better friend for him.

  
Matus gave a small blade to Lance. The last step of the procedure. Lance cut the inside of his left palm without hesitation. The Commander did the same. Matus continued his speech, mystical words that reached their quintessence. And finally, a dark curly mark appeared on both their left forearms. They lifted their marks to show that it had worked. Lance quickly arranged the meeting details with Commander Hart. Once the call ended, Lance turned to Matus who had tears in his eyes. He put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, looking into Matus’s eyes.

  
“Thank you, Matus. You’ll make a great King,” Lance said with a small sorry smile, the first one Matus had seen in phoebs from Lance.

  
Matus was speechless as Lance left the room.

  
Now, he understood how Lance had felt.

  
Being named King was a sad honour.

 


	3. Chapter 3 - Completely Helpless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> The announcement of Lance's capture reaches his space family across the universe. How will everyone react?  
> Meanwhile, Lance still doesn't want to go down quietly, and he'll pay the price for it. 
> 
> Things are getting pretty dark. There will be more hope at the end, but before that let's enjoy a lot of Langst. 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Thanks!!

Lance had a few minutes left before leaving. He couldn’t tell anyone, but that didn’t prevent him from saying his goodbyes in some way. He went to see Rolia and Swirn, gave them advice on how to save on munitions, and left by thanking them for their good work, which seemed to surprise them. They didn’t say anything though, just let him leave.

After that, he went to the science department. As usual, Blumpfumb went on about his new ideas, still supervising his repair team in space. Everything was going well for now. Lance asked that he brought them back in the ships. Blumpfumb didn’t complain, but asked many questions anyway. Lance only told him that he had found a solution, but couldn’t explain it now. He left by thanking him as well.

And then, he went to where Ella and Plaxum were. Taking care of the families in the lower part of the ship. Most of the families were in other ships, the main one destined principally to protect and fight, but there were a few who had to board this one. Plaxum and Ella had volunteered to be in charge of their comfort. They really did a good job.

Lance hesitated, looking at the love of his life from afar. She was smiling and looked relatively happy, but he could see the concern and the pain in her eyes. Losing Azul had broken something in her, but she was so strong that she had come to accept reality and smile again anyway. He walked to her. She looked surprised to see him. He took her hand, and her jaw tenderly, looked in her beautiful eyes, imprinted every single gorgeous humanlike trait of her in his mind, and gave her a kiss like he hadn’t in phoebs. It would probably be their last, so Lance let himself enjoy the love and desire of it. When he pulled away, he had tears in his eyes. So, he turned away quickly and left before it hurt too much and he couldn’t hold his emotions in anymore. He had created barriers around his heart, cut all emotions from affecting him, but they were crumbling down as death was more imminent than ever. Plaxum tried to go after him, but her duties, left her stuck there. Lance was grateful for that.  

A part of his life had been full of wonders and happiness.

Another part had been of fear and pain.

Followed by years of peace and love.

And then phoebs of lasting agony.

But now the end had come.

 

\---

 

“How could you let him do this!?” Plaxum yelled, tears spilling out of her eyes in an endless flow.

Matus remained silent, eyes to the ground. The others didn’t know how to react either. They were angry and sad, just like Plaxum, but they were also somehow grateful for Lance’s sacrifice. The Merpeople were safe for now.

“Are you all really letting this happen? He’s our King!” Plaxum yelled.

“We… We should respect our King’s decision,” Rolia muttered.

“No...” Matus replied then.

Everyone looked at him, surprised.

“Plaxum is right, we can’t let this happen. We abandoned one of our own once already, we’re not letting this happen twice,” Matus decided.

They all looked at him with pride and hope, seeing in him what Lance had seen when he had given his title to him.

Matus would be a great king one day.

But that day was not today.

 

—

 

“Sir, we have terrible news,” one of the rebel fighters said as he reached his General.

“What is it?” the half-Galra asked.

Keith had spent the last decaphoebs hidden on a desert planet far away from any interesting system that could possibly attract the IG’s attention. He was General of this army, just under Colonel Kolivan. Their life wasn’t easy there, but what mattered was that they could keep their group a secret until the time came for them to finally fight back like Allura had said would happen. Keith was a fighter, he took the princess’s last words to heart, but for him finding happiness again meant freeing the enslaved people and be with his family, Team Voltron, again. His mother was still by his side, which made things easier, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing from his life since he had been forced to separate from the other Paladins. He remembered that feeling from when he had joined the Blade for a while when he was younger, a longing for home.

“Here,” the soldier said simply as he showed him a public announcement from one of the IG’s widespread channels.

Appearing on the screen was a tall massive alien with grey skin and small dark eyes. He was the one with the most power, they called him their Emperor, like the former title of the ruler of the Galra Empire. It all felt like a sick joke. By his side was a human with strange reptilian traits, a Commander probably, given his clothes and ensigns.

“This is Emperor Drayak of the Intergalactic Government,” the Emperor started.

Keith always disliked how they still called it a government anyway. These people hadn’t been elected, they had forcefully taken power, they had crushed everyone’s freedom. It was tyranny.

“In two quintents from now, at this exact same time, will be displayed on all screens throughout the universe the awaited execution of one of the former Paladins of Voltron,” Emperor Drayak announced with a satisfied grin.

Keith’s heart skipped a beat. A member of his family had been caught… He suddenly felt like he was having a nightmare. He had had ones like this before, where his friends were all dead and his hopes all gone, but it had never been true. Even if he hadn’t had any news from them in decaphoebs, he knew in his heart that they were all still alive, waiting for their time to fight back.

Which one of his siblings was he going to lose?

“Commander Hart has been the one to force the Blue Paladin into surrender on Leyora III one quintent ago. Lance McClain will be executed publicly accordingly to the death sentence he has been condemned for,” the Emperor announced as the Camera showed a big picture of the staged where they stood.

Beside the Commander, surrounded by soldiers pointing their weapons on him, was Lance. He was on his knees, his hands tied behind his back. His face held high showed signs of having been beaten up, a small trail of blood coming from a cut above his left brow where he had probably been hit too hard. Lance had changed so much over the years, he looked strong and fearless, but there were also deep pain and sorrow in his eyes. He must have lost precious people over the last decaphoebs. It hurt Keith to know that the cheerful Cuban boy of his memories, his boisterous rival, his brother, had been through so many hardships that there was no more light, happiness or hope coming from him.

Keith cursed at the sight. He had to save him!

The Emperor continued his speech, announcing how it was a mandatory watching and that this served to show the universe the power of the IG and how no one could get away from them, not even a mighty Paladin of Voltron. Keith already started to analyze the information he had gotten from the announcement. There was no way that he was letting this happen, damn be the safety of his hideout.

“Keith. Stop,” his mother ordered then.

He turned to her and saw seriousness in her eyes. It made him furious, she could be really cold sometimes, even towards her own son.

“Krolia, you decided to remain a Commander. I am the General of this rebel organization, I make the decisions, and I will save him, no matter what,” Keith told her.

“It’s a suicide mission. You are my son before being my superior. I will not let you go there,” Krolia said.

They hold the other's gaze for long heavy dobashes, waiting for one of them to step back, but they were both really stubborn.

“You two, stop this immediately,” Kolivan said, joining them.

Keith and Krolia knew that Kolivan’s choice would be final. So they waited for him to tell them his decision.

But, really, Keith doubted he could be ordered to let his friend die.

 

—

 

“Hunk! There’s bad news! The elders want to see you!” One of the Balmerans yelled as he reached him.

Looking at the distress in the Balmeran’s eyes, Hunk felt already uneasy.

“If it’s about the rest of cave bugs being gone, Shay also ate a whole bunch,” he said.

“I heard you!” Shay yelled from a few metres behind him. “He’s lying, he ate them all!”

“Thanks for the support, Honey, really appreciated,” Hunk yelled back.

“It’s urgent,” the young Balmeran insisted.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” Hunk said, leaving his duty as main cook for now.

Hunk had gone to the old Balmera decaphoebs ago. He had married Shay and the both of them had left soon after to join a community of Balmerans on another planet, where Hunk would be less likely to be found out. He had lived there peacefully for the past decaphoebs as the community’s main cook and engineer. It was nice.

He soon arrived at the elder’s place, a humble habitation resembling the rest of the Balmeran’s houses, but bigger to host assemblies and parties. Hunk had been able to install a big screen on one of the walls. This way they could do movie nights sometimes.

As soon as he entered the big room, the elder’s sad gazes turned to him. Now this was really _really_ not reassuring. He was concerned, and also scared to know what bad news they were going to tell him.

“Hi, Yellow One,” a woman, the eldest, greeted him.

They were all seated near the big screen as if they had just watched something there, which was probably the case.

“Hey! So, hum… What’s going on?” he asked anxiously.

“We have something to show you. You might dislike what you’ll see,” the eldest said.

“Really? Maybe I’ll just pass then,” he offered.

They didn’t listen to him though. The screen came up to life. It was an announcement from the IG. That always meant not only bad news, but terrible ones. And he was obviously proven right when the Emperor said that they had caught one of his friends. Despair and sorrow struck him when Lance’s name was said. When his childhood friend appeared on the screen, looking beaten up and his eyes full of seriousness and profound pain, Hunk understood that Lance’s fate had been merciless.

Hunk had tears in his eyes as he ran out of the Elders’ place. He barely made it before he puked by the side of the door. After having emptied his stomach quite thoroughly, he noticed that Shay had joined him and was telling him comforting words.

“What happened?” She asked when he seemed better.

“Lance… I have to save Lance,” he said. “The IG caught him. They’ll execute him…”

Another wave of nausea struck him, but he was able to fight against it. Finally, he started walking decisively towards the few ships they had. Maybe there wasn’t much he could do, and he wasn’t super agile and a great fighter like Shiro, Keith or Pidge, but there was no way he was going to let Lance die like this.

“Hunk, you can’t…” Shay started.

Every time Shay talked, it was so soft that he just couldn’t ignore her.

“The IG Headquarters are too far away from here, none of our ships can make it,” she explained.

“But… I have to do something, Shay! I have to…” he was furious and desperate.

Tears were freely rolling down his cheeks. She only hugged him in response. She simply couldn’t say anything to cheer him up. In two quintents, a piece of hope would be ripped away from them.

 

—

 

“Matt, I swear to God, you better let me see that announcement now,” Pidge threatened.

Matt had escaped soon after her, determined to protect his little sister. His disappearance didn’t go unnoticed and a good price was put on his head. After a few phoebs of long research, Matt had finally found her again, hidden in a jungle planet of all places, in a cave where she had constructed a huge tech lab. The girl was so resourceful it always surprised him.

At her threat, Matt didn’t answer anything, only looked at his father standing close to them, unsure of what to do.

“Let her see,” Colleen decided, joining the rest of her family.

Pidge and Matt’s parents were supposed to stay on Earth, since they were not hunted down by the IG, but obviously they had instead decided to brave space’s many dangers and find their children. It had taken longer for them, but they had finally made it to her location, following the encrypted hints Matt and Pidge had left behind.

They had been together for decaphoebs now, they were happy, even if too isolated for their liking. They would go only once a month to a nearby moon shop to trade their new inventions for materials, basic tools and new things to work on.

A few dobashes ago, while Pidge and her mother were outside chasing for food, they had received a universe-wide announcement from the Emperor himself. As she was entering the cave, Pidge had seen the Emperor fade away from the biggest screen of their lab. Her brother was bent down, as if the announcement weighed on him, and her father had a saddened expression. She had asked them what was going on, but Matt had only told her and their mother that it was an announcement from the Emperor and refused to let her see it.

Matt, listening to her mother’s decision, stepped aside. Pidge went for the keypad right away to replay the announcement.

It broke her heart, Matt saw it in her eyes right when Lance’s former title was said. And then he was shown on the screen.

“No!” she screamed, despair filling her soul in that moment and unshed tears pooling in her eyes.

Colleen went beside her and took her sorrowful daughters in her arms.

“We have to go, we have to help,” she said.

“We could make it, but…” Matt started.

“But there’ll probably be high security. It will surely be impossible to save him. With only us five, there’s not much we can do and we might all lose our lives in the end,” Sam said.

“But… We always did the impossible! We should be able to do it again! Lance’s life is on the line!” Pidge replied.

No one answered her. She was the most stubborn of them all. She had gone through a lot to find her father and brother. Now that her family was safe and together, her faraway brother was in danger. She looked at them, searching for a bit of hope and a will to fight, but they had all accepted what she still couldn’t.

This time, they really couldn’t do the impossible.

 

—

 

Shiro watched the announcement over and over again, finally pausing when Lance appeared on the screen. For the past decaphoebs, the guilt and shame from having failed his team and the universe had almost destroyed him. He was hidden on a planet strangely resembling Earth. He had built a house by himself in the middle of the wood. He chased animals and picked fruits that grew around his house. He was alone.

At least, there was civilization a couple kilometres away. He went there sometimes to recharge his generator and buy tools and stuff to help him survive in the woods. There weren’t many wild beasts, but there sure were some annoying ones.

The first time he went to the village, movements after his arrival to this planet, he had found a screen that could pick up a bit of signal. It wasn’t much, but it helped against loneliness. Then, a few vargas ago, he had received the Emperor’s announcement. It was devastating for his moral.

Lance… Lance would die and he was too far away from him to even be able to try and save him. He wished he could still hear his ceaseless chatter, see his big bright smile as he got excited for a mission or complimented for saving people’s lives.

That’s what they had all ever did since becoming Paladins of Voltron, saving lives. And now, Lance would lose his for that, for being too good for this universe.

No. Even if he was too far away, even if things seemed desperate, there was surely something he could do. Instinctively, Shiro reached for his space phone from long ago. Lance should’ve called, but he hadn’t so Shiro would make the call for him.

 

—

 

Coran had never stopped tracking the IG ships who tried to go after the Paladins. He was the captain of a band of space pirates that attacked IG ships for goods, at least that was what he told his crew. The real reason was that he knew the Paladins’ positions. He knew where they all were because of their old cellphones and he made sure to keep them safe the best he could.

Unfortunately, he had failed Lance. He didn’t know the reasons why, but all the Merpeople had escaped with him. Lance must have been really important to them.

He wanted to do something, but going to the IG headquarters was suicide. He was still unsure of what to do. There must be something he could do for him…

There was a knock on his room’s door.

“Yes, come in!” he encouraged, as he stood straighter.

“He’s out of the pod, Captain,” the alien said.

“Oh, great! Let’s not make our guest wait!” Coran said joyfully.

Just as he was exiting his room, his space cellphone rung.

Seeing that it was Shiro, Coran was confident then.

There was something they could do.

 

—

 

The door to Lance’s cell opened.

“The time has come,” Commander Hart announced.

Lance remained silent as he exited the cell and followed the guards surrounding him down the hall. Reaching the door, Lance noticed that the guards needed a card to allow them access, and he new exactly where it was at that moment. He didn’t waste time and jumped on the guard holding the card. It dropped to the ground and Lance grabbed it swiftly before hiding quickly behind the door. He closed it as shots were fired in his direction. He had done it. Panting and still surprised of his success, he stayed there a few long ticks before finally turning back. He had to get away before he got caught. He ran down the halls, not knowing exactly where to go. He had to find the hangar. There he would be able to steal a ship and hopefully escape. Suddenly, an alarm resounded in the entire place. Lance came face to face with droids then. That’s when he realized he had no weapons. He heard soldiers coming from behind.

“Stop,” one of the droids demanded.

“Hell no,” Lance replied, running towards them at full speed and dropping down just as they fired their weapons.

Electrical balls passed just on top of him. Obviously, they couldn’t kill him yet, they had to show the universe. Lance slid until he reached the droids. There, before they could even react, Lance took them down swiftly. He thanked Keith in his mind for the close-combat training he did with him. He surely had complained a lot at first, but now he was glad he had been stubborn enough so he could beat Keith. It never happened though, but he would never admit it to him. Even after all these years, Lance still thought of Keith as his rival. Well, maybe that wasn’t all true. Keith was also his brother.

Lance took one of the fallen droids’ blaster and continued to run. He ran and ran like he never had before. As he ran for his life, he saw flashes of memories. Why did he still fight to live? What was pushing him to seek freedom? He saw his family from Earth, heard their laugh again; and then his space family, bruised and exhausted after one of their hardest battles, but all smiling wide and bright; and Plaxum on their first date, looking gorgeous; their lively friends; the welcoming Merpeople; and… and Azulito. Many memories of his son filled his mind. The IG had forced him to abandon his son. He had respected his part of the deal, he had surrendered to Commander Hart on Leyora III. The curly mark on his left forearm was gone. Now, he had all the right to fight. He had all the right to avenge his son or at least go against the IG’s wishes to kill him publicly.

Then, as he passed by a hallway, he noticed a strange door at the end of it, so he stopped and took off this way. The door had a window from which Lance could see light coming from inside the room it led to. Lance looked carefully through the window. The hangar! He opened the door, hope filling his whole being. Maybe he would be able to go back to his people! But then he heard a laugh behind him. Lance’s heart stopped and he slowly turned to face the man behind him. The door was closing, and behind it appeared the Emperor himself.

Sounds of steps and guns activating resounded in the hangar. Lance turned around to face the soldiers pointing their weapons at him. There was about fifty of them. Lance cursed, feeling despair in his soul.

“You really thought you could escape me now, Blue Paladin?” the Emperor said walking in Lance’s direction.

Lance didn’t move. There was no point in doing so anyway right now. He still lifted his weapon and pointed it at the man before him. His hands were shaking, it hadn’t happened in a while. Even if he shot the Emperor, the man would only be electrocuted and the other fifty people behind him would do the same to him or worse. It had been his last chance to escape, and he had failed. Lance grit his teeth. Well, to hell! He shot the Emperor. Surprisingly, the man didn’t even seem fazed by the shot, if only annoyed.

“Electricity doesn’t affect my species,” the emperor explained.

Lance didn’t care, he shot him repetitively, purposefully annoying the Emperor. Soon, the Emperor became tired of it and walked in two big strides to Lance. Before the former blue paladin could even react, the Emperor grabbed his blaster and crushed it right here with only his bare hand. The Emperor had daggers in his eyes. The other hand grabbed Lance's neck and the Emperor took out a small knife from his back.

“I might want to kill you publicly, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy our time together a bit,” the Emperor smiled, bringing the knife near Lance’s face.

Lance was scared now. So terrified he could feel his heart pounding frantically and loudly in his chest. His hands were desperately trying to free himself from the Emperor’s choking grip on his neck, and his legs were kicking at him vainly in hope that it would help.

“You know, you have really beautiful eyes,” the Emperor pointed out with a dark laugh.

The blade was plunged into Lance's left eye before he could even process the Emperor’s sick warning.

He screamed until his voice was raw, and fell unconscious after a few too long dobashes.

To Lance, it was clear now, the universe hated him.

And he hated it too.


	4. Chapter 4 - One Last Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Lance's execution has come. 
> 
> I was supposed to post it yesterday, but life got in the way. I cried writing this chapter, and I hope you'll all like it. There's only one chapter left! 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments :)!!
> 
> Thanks!!

When he came to again, he felt dizzy and his head hurt really bad. When he tried to open his eyes, he felt extreme pain on the left one. He couldn’t open it. Frightening memories came back to him. His eye… He had been stabbed in the eye. He opened his right one and discovered with horror that he was on a stage in front of a huge crowd. He looked around and noticed that they had put him in a glass box. He was hanging by his arms, his feet slightly touching the ground. The metal shackles dug painfully in his wrist, and the chain attached to them hung from the cover of the box, which was full of holes. On each side of it, near the bottom, there were tubes. He didn’t know their utility and he was pretty he would know soon enough, unfortunately. He looked back at the crowd. It was silent. The Emperor was making a speech about power and the greatness of the IG. Lance looked at him with hatred for a moment, but a wave of pain struck him again and he squeezed his eye shut.

“Now, everyone in this universe who still tries to fight vainly against the IG, watch hope drown before you,” the Emperor announced then.

And Lance understood the warning right away this time. The tubes… That was what they were for. The box started filling with water then. It soon reached his ankles. The water was cold. The Emperor walked to the box with an evil grin. Really, at this point this guy was even worse than Zarkon in Lance’s mind. Well, Lance had never met Zarkon in person contrarily to Emperor Drayak, but still… That man was a maniac.

“Isn’t it funny? The Blue Paladin, former pilot of the Lion of water and ice, being executed in his own element,” the Emperor explained proudly. “I had the idea even before I caught you. Do you want to know what we’ll do to your friends when we finally find them?”

“Go to hell,” Lance spat. “You’re sick.”

The emperor laughed.

“The yellow paladin will be crushed under a ton of rocks. The green one will be forced to eat a special seed that grows vines and painfully kills your species in under 2 minutes,” the Emperor explained.

The water was now at Lance’s waist. He gave a big tug at the chains, but they were too solid. There was no way he would be able to break them like this.

“Stop.” Lance demanded.

“The Red one? He will be burned alive, obviously. And the Dark Paladin… His element is not as evident as the others, but I had the good idea to make him suffocate. It’ll be so much fun,” the Emperor laughed.

Lance was hardly holding the Emperor’s gaze with his only eye, not wanting to let the other man see the despair in his heart.

Lance’s head hit the top of the box, the water forcing him to swim upward now. He tilted his head towards the sky, knowing that soon the box would be completely filled with water. He had a few dobashes left to live now. It was the end…

Wait, what was that in the sky? The crowd noticed it then too. Something was coming from up above. The Emperor noticed it too and smiled.

“Here comes the other Paladins’ fall,” he said excitedly.

“No… No!” Lance said has he realized that the Emperor was wrong, but also that it was even worse than that.

Those were the Merpeople’s ships! What were they doing here? They were supposed to be safe! He had sacrificed himself… and hope for that. Soon enough the crowd was running away as weapons fired at them. It felt like war, or more like defeat to Lance. And just as everything went down, Lance’s box filled with water completely. He was stuck in there, watching helplessly as his people received blast after blast. The ships were well made, but they were soon taken down. Lance saw the three ships explode before him. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, but he couldn’t afford to lose his last bit of air.

Just as he was losing all hope, something hit the glass box behind him. Lance turned around and saw Plaxum, Matus, Rolia and Swirn there. Plaxum had a crowbar in her hands and she was banging on the glass as hard as she could. When it didn’t work after a few tries, Rolia took the crowbar and used it against the cover to force it open. God, this woman was beef. She was tall and the cover finally gave in under her strength.

Lance quickly swam to the surface, gasping as he reached out. He inhaled air hungrily for a moment as Rolia took care of breaking the chains and getting him out of here. He felt even dizzier now. He was laid on the ground in Plaxum’s arms.

“Wha…” he started.

“You’re OK, we’re here to save you, My Love,” Plaxum said, looking happy to see him, but also horrified by her husband’s state.

He reached to her beautiful face with one of his shaky hands, and suddenly started crying.

“You shouldn’t have… You shouldn’t…” he tries to talk in between sobs.

“You are our King…” Swirn told him.

“You are our friend…” Rolia said.

“You are family…” Matus added, which touched Lance deeply. “But now we really have to go!”

They helped Lance up, Plaxum supporting him a bit. They started walking off stage, he didn’t know where to. His rescue team looked to know where they were going, but suddenly someone appeared before them with a laugh that sent chills down Lance’s spine.

No…

“You can’t get away from me, Blue Paladin,” he said.

Lance cursed. Rolia and Swirn went in front of them. They were ready to fight.

“We… We have to get away, you can’t beat him,” Lance tried to warn them.

“Go ahead! We’ll follow you as soon as we can!” Rolia shouted, not listening to Lance.

“No, you don’t understand…” Lance started.

“Go!” Rolia cut him off.

Matus and Plaxum listened, forcing Lance away from the two girls. He heard the Emperor’s laugh again and Lance wanted to go back so badly. He wanted to save them. They would not make it back…

He heard them scream, and Matus and Plaxum started walking faster. Plaxum was crying, and Lance felt so guilty. She was so much stronger than him. She should’ve been Queen. Lance was put in a pod against his protests. Plaxum and Matus weren’t listening to him either.

The Emperor’s laugh sounded again from where they had come from. Matus entered coordinates in the pod’s system.

“Our people… Why?!” Lance screamed.

“You are our King, but you are also a lot more to the universe,” Matus said, looking at him with a sad smile and putting Lance’s old space cellphone in his hands. “You are hope, Lance.”

Matus had never called him by his name before. It made him speechless. Plaxum took the chance to kiss her husband tenderly as Matus was going against the Emperor alone.

“Your fight isn’t over, My Love,” she said before activating the pod and closing the door.

“Beautiful?” He asked, shocked. “What… What are you doing? Plaxum? No!” he started screaming weakly punching the door as the pod was tacking off.

Lance couldn’t do anything but look through the window. He saw Matus on the ground, a large gash on his chest. The Emperor was walking decisively towards the pod. He would have reached it and probably caught Lance again if it wasn’t for Plaxum. The Emperor grabbed her by the neck when she tried to attack him, and, before he could do anything, she took out a hidden blade and plunging it directly in his left eye.

“Plaxum!” Lance screamed in agony as the Emperor simply broke her neck, right before Lance’s eyes.

The pod flew away as Lance kept crying until he finally lost consciousness.

Every single thing he cared about had been ripped away from him.

He was left alone and broken, drifting away into space.

He wanted it all to be over.

 

—

 

He fought. He fought until he couldn’t. Plaxum’s last words to him were that his fight wasn’t over, so he made sure that she hadn’t said it for no reason. He joined small rebel groups in IG controlled planets he passed by. With their help, he made them chase away IG occupation. They rose up against tyranny. Lance tried to save them, tried to make a difference. He had nothing to lose anymore. After phoebs of endless fighting and liberating planets, Lance became a bit too reckless. He felt like this was all useless. He was all alone…

On a mission, he had planted bombs in an IG base on a mining planet. They had caught him before he could get away. Fortunately, he had been prepared, so when the bombs had blown up, he had dropped to the ground. Flying debris fell on top of him and his captors. His enemies who were standing when the bombs exploded were more affected by the blows. Lance felt pain on his right side. It burned and it felt like something was lodged in his side, but he didn’t dare looking at the damage. He had to get away first. In the chaos of it all, Lance was hardly able to escape, clandestinely boarding a cargo ship leaving the planet. He hid in the back, in the mass of boxes and merchandises. He dropped to the ground, leaning heavily against one of the boxes, feeling suddenly exhausted, dizzy and really _really_ in pain. He finally looked at his side. It was a lot worse than he had imagined it would be. A big piece of metal had embedded itself in his side, coming out of his back. Blood was gushing out of the wound. He didn’t know where the cargo ship would land next, but he wouldn’t make it anyway. He exhaled deeply. He didn’t fear death anymore, he was even kind of relieved. Life had been hell for him, well in the end at least. He had done his best… right? He had tried to be good until the end, to help people even when the whole universe was against him. He had never given up, never once stopped fighting for the greater good, even when he started loathing life.

He was tired… Oh, so tired.

Suddenly, his old space cellphone rung. What an odd coincidence… Weakly, he reached for his phone, the only thing he had left beside his wedding ring and his clothes. It was Keith of all people. Lance let out a small laugh that sounded like a sob, and answered the video call.

“Hey…” Lance said with a rough voice.

“Hey!” Keith said, lighting up, visibly happy that his old friend had answered.

Keith looked good, his mullet had grown enough that he wore it in a bun now. Lance smiled softly.

“’sup?” Lance asked.

“The team is all back together, Lance. Look,” Keith said turning the camera towards his other former teammates.

Pidge was still the tiny woman that he remembered, as if she hadn’t aged at all. Hunk was musclier. He looked to have had a good past decaphoebs. Shiro looked like shit, long hair in a loose braid, a beard and dark circles. At least he was smiling. Coran was becoming really old, white hair starting to overcome his bright orange ones, except the moustache, how strange is that... Matt was more in shape than the last time Lance had seen him. The tall skinny boy had really changed over the years, now wearing a small beard and short hair. It was good to see them all, they looked relatively good, and they were safe.

“It’s all thanks to you, your escape stirred something in everyone and we will finally fight back, just like Allura said. People all over the universe are rebelling against the IG. This time, we will truly bring peace back to the universe,” Keith explained with determination. “Oh, and we also have a little surprise for you. You’ll have to thank Coran for that…” Keith dropped down.

 

Lance’s whole universe came to a stop.

 

“Hi, Dad!” the young half-merchild said cheerfully. “I miss you! Where are you?”

“Azulito…” Lance breathed. He couldn’t help the flow of tears spilling out his eyes then. “I miss you too, little monster. I’m so sorry…”

“Dad? Don’t cry, dad, I’m with uncle Coran! He’s super awesome!” The young boy said, trying to cheer up his mess of a dad.

“And gorgeous!” Coran added a bit behind.

“I know, Azul,” Lance said with a happy smile. “I’m so glad you’re alright. You don’t even know how much your mom and I love you.”

“I love you too, dad! When are you and mom coming back?” he asked joyfully.

Lance faltered there. He couldn’t tell him…

“It might… take a while. Can you give the cellphone back to Keith now?” Lance asked.

He felt tired and cold now, he was shaking a lot, and it wasn’t because of the emotions. Lance knew what that meant.

“Thank you for that Keith…  I really needed that in the end,” Lance said.

“We’re coming to get you,” Keith replied. “Pidge has tracked your signal, we’ll be there in a few dobashes. Pidge found a way to make wormholes without Altean magic.”

“That little genius…” Lance said.

He coughed wetly then. Blood trickled down his chin. Oh, quiznack… that wasn’t good.

“Lance?” Keith asked, anxious. “What’s going on?”

Lance stayed silent for a moment. “Take good care of Azulito for me, OK?”

“Lance, what are you talking about?” Keith asked, more serious.

“I don’t have long. The last mission… I got injured. It’s… hum… pretty serious,” Lance admitted.

“Pidge we need a wormhole now!” Keith yelled as he ran out of the room, probably to a pod or…

“Did I just see Red?” Lance asked.

“Let’s say that a lot happened at the IG headquarters the day you were supposed to be executed. We got all our Lions back, Blue too. It was pretty crazy, man,” Keith explained briefly.

“My people…” Lance said with a sad tone.

It was difficult to simply hold his cellphone up now. His breathing was becoming shallower by the tick.

“They are fine Lance. Shiro called us soon after the Emperor’s announcement. Coran told us about your people, and thanks to the Holts we were able to track their ships and organize a rescue mission with them. It was rushed and things didn’t go as well as we hoped they would have, but your people are safe. Without them crashing their empty ships right on the IG HQ, we wouldn’t have been able to save you,” Keith said, out of breath and visibly piloting Red out of the Castle now.

“Plaxum…” Lance said simply.

“We… We couldn’t save her, but Swirn, Matus and Rolia made it,” Keith informed his old friend. “We were able to save them.”

“That’s… really awesome…” Lance said with a peaceful smile.

He would’ve cried of happiness if he had had the energy left to do it. They had survived…

“Lance I’m right there, please… please hold on a few more dobashes, OK?” Keith insisted.

“Thanks… Mullet… ‘m not… dyin’… alone,” he added, his voice fading away as he reached his limits.

He wasn’t hurting anymore. His hand fell to the ground, his cellphone clattering on the floor. He had lost too much blood. It was the end, but for him it was a happy one.

In these last seconds alive, Lance felt like there was finally hope again.

Hope for his friends, for his families, for his people…

Hope for his son and his future.

Lance smiled.


	5. Chapter 5 - His Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> Lance's two possible endings!
> 
> Finally, here is the final chapter. I hope you'll like it!
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments :)!
> 
> Thanks!!

**ENDING 1 (sad):**

 

Keith watched the ceremony end, pride filling his heart. Azulito, now 29 years old, had just been chosen as the new Merpeople’s King. Azulito had lived under Keith’s care for most of his life. Matt had taken Lance’s place as Blue’s Paladin, but as soon as Azulito had reached 18 years old, Blue had changed her Paladin for Lance’s son. Even if he didn’t remember much of his father, Azul resembled him a lot. It was easy to pilot with him. The other Paladins had fought for years and finally won against the IG. Peace had graced them the past few decaphoebs. Keith let him go back to his people. Azul was unsure at first. Keith was like a father to him and the Paladins had become his family. But something was telling him that he needed to go back, like a calling or something. After years of living amongst the Merpeople, helping them, and becoming one of the King’s most trusted fellows, he was chosen as the next successor to the throne. Azul had accepted the honour as Matus decided to give his title to someone younger and more capable of protecting them all. There was no real threat for now in the universe, but if war came again, Azul would be a great protector for their people and the universe as well. Keith was also quite old now, even if, thanks to his Galra genes, he was still the most in shape of all the former Voltron Paladins.

Their fight was finally truly over. Now they had to let go and leave the rest to the younger generation.

“Why is it so filthy here?!” Coran asked as he cried rivers, standing beside Keith.

The Altean man was ridiculously healthy for his age. He was reaching like 85 or something like that. Keith was glad Coran was still around to see a peaceful universe again.

Keith walked to Azul and the blue-eyed man turned to him with a happy smile.

“Your parents would be proud of you,” Keith told him. “I’m proud of you.”

Azul’s eyes brighten up. How could a man have this much life and brightness in him, Keith didn’t know, but to him it felt that this was the reason why Keith had never stopped fighting. To see people happy, and proud, and hopeful like Azul. They hugged.

“Thank you… dad,” Azul told him.

Keith’s mind seemed to stop working at that moment. He wasn’t Azul’s dad, Lance was, but the way Azul had said it wasn’t to disrespect Lance, it was because Keith had been a paternal figure, family to him.

Azul left after that to receive congratulations and gifts from the other people present. Coran was still beside Keith.

“Never thought you’d be the one taking care of Lance’s son. You were always hotheaded, ready to battle anyone who dared to pick a fight with you. I still remember the first few phoebs after we got all back together. The little monster was always running off to some crazy places around the old Castle of Lions that even I didn’t know of. Azul was a handful to you, but you were always able to remain somewhat calm. Yeah, you did a pretty good job, Number 4. Congratulations,” Coran said cheerfully.

“Thank you, Coran,” Keith laughed.

It had been hard for Keith to take care of someone else. Hunk, Shiro and the Holts had helped, but ultimately, he was determined to be the one in charge of Lance’s child. Keith felt like he owed it to Lance and Azul. He had been so close to saving Lance, but he had arrived too late. When he had reached Lance, he was already gone. Keith had tried everything... Hunk had been the one dragging him away from their lost friend’s body. Keith had never been a hugger, but at that time he had felt the need to seek comfort in his friends’ arms. Hunk really did give the best hugs. Hunk had cried a lot too. The other members of their team had also joined them near Lance’s body to say goodbye. The shocked alien pilots just stood a few metres away, not daring to say or do anything. Keith had seen Coran and Azul standing outside the ship.

“Why are they sad uncle Coran?” Azul had asked.

“Because… your father will be asleep for a really long time, little one,” Coran had replied.

“When will he wake up?” Azul had asked.

There was silence for a moment, and then Coran was crying too.

“He won’t,” he hardly answered.

“Why?” Azul had asked, leaving Coran’s side to go to his father’s side. “Daddy? You have to wake up now. I want to play with you. And I want to see mommy and uncle Matus and aunt Rolia and aunt Ella too. Come on, daddy! Wake up! Daddy!” The young boy started crying. “Uncle, Coran, why won’t he wake up?”

The young boy was desperate and sad.

Since that day, Keith had made it his duty to make sure Azul would have all the love and protection his parents couldn’t give him.

And now, looking at Azul, the Blue Paladin of the new generation, and the King of the Merpeople, he knew he had done well.

After all that had gone against them and torn apart their family

After all the war, all the pain and all the losses

Lance could finally rest in peace

As his legacy prospered.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

**Ending 2 (Happy):**

 

“Coran! Coran, I need help immediately!” Keith yelled as he entered Red’s hangar with the cargo ship in its mouth.

The Lion dropped the cargo ship down. Strangers came out, surprised. Keith ran to the back right away and found Lance lifeless on the ground. There was a pool of blood underneath him and it was big. Keith dropped to his knees and placed Lance on his back carefully. He searched for signs of life, but there was none. Lance wasn’t breathing, his heart was silent… Keith started CPR right away. He had to do everything he could. He pushed, and pushed, and pushed…

“Coran!” He screamed again, desperate.

“Coming!” The man shouted back as he was just entering the hangar.

Keith pushed air into Lance’s lungs. No reaction. He continued pushing rhythmically on his chest. Still no reaction.

“We have to put him on the gurney and get him to the med bay immediately,” Coran said.

Keith did as requested. Soon, but still not soon enough to Keith’s liking, Lance was on the gurney and they were walking quickly to the infirmary. Once there, Keith followed Coran’s instructions. They needed to restart his heart first, then give him a blood transfusion and ensure his state was stable before anything else. The big piece of metal sticking out Lance’s side was almost unbearable to look at it, and Keith had seen many terrible things in his life. This thing made him more scared than anything he had ever encountered, because… it was what had made Lance’s heart stop.

Coran injected something in Lance’s still bloodstream and then put weird sticky things on the man’s chest. Keith hadn’t seen Lance in so long. He had gotten even more in shape than he used to be. Lance really wasn’t the lanky teenager he was when they first met.

Lance’s chest was suddenly spasming. Keith was worried for a tick before realizing that it was what Coran had put on Lance’s chest, the weird sticky things. Not even waiting to see if it would work, Coran started preparing the blood transfusion right away. Keith couldn’t do much but pray that Lance would come back to life. He had never been much of a believer in prayers and the powers of belief, but in that moment, he truly hoped that some miracle would bring back his brother. After all Lance had gone through, he deserved to have his place back by their side in this new war. He deserved to see his son grow up and to live in a peaceful universe again.

He couldn’t die like this, it was too unfair.

No. No, he couldn’t die like this!

And just like that, Lance’s heart started beating again. Keith almost cried. Almost. Coran proceeded right away with the blood transfusion, and then checking his vitals and all that medical stuff Keith didn’t know about. He followed Coran’s orders when the Altean man needed help. After long dobashes, Lance was finally put in a healing pod. The two men slumped to the floor in exhaustion, adrenaline draining out quickly. They were covered in Lance’s blood, and they couldn’t seem to get their eyes away from the healing pod in front of them.

They had been just in time. They had done it. They had saved him.

 

—

 

Lance stumbled out of the pod, completely confused. Hunk caught him before he fell to the ground.

“Hey, easy there, man,” Hunk said.

“Wha…” Lance started.

“I saved your ass,” Keith said proudly, coming beside Hunk.

Lance’s face lit up and he started looking around frantically.

“Azul?” Lance asked, voice desperate.

“Dad!” the young boy shouted happily as he entered the infirmary with Pidge.

“Little monster!” Lance cried as he dropped down to his knees with open arms.

The half-merchild ran clumsily to his father, jumping in his arms. Lance was crying again, kissing his boy’s head multiple times.

“I’m so happy… I’m so happy you’re safe, Azul,” Lance told him.

“I missed you, daddy,” Azul replied, completely unaware of why his father was so emotive.

“Why is it so filthy here?!” Coran asked as he cried rivers, standing beside Keith.

Lance looked back at his old friends with a wide smile.

There was life in his eyes again.

He was finally home.

 

—

 

“I’m so proud of you, son,” Lance said as he joined him.

Azulito, now 29 years old, had just been declared the new Merpeople’s King. Azulito had lived with his father in space until he was 15 years old, when the war ended. The Paladins had fought for years, a difficult war, and finally won against the IG. Peace had graced them the past decaphoebs. Lance and Azul had gone back to the Merpeople. After years of living amongst them, helping them, and becoming one of King Matus’s most trusted fellows, Azul was chosen as the next successor to the throne. He had accepted the honour as Matus decided to give his title to someone younger and more capable of protecting them all. There was no real threat for now, but if war came again, Azul would be a great protector for their people.

Their fight was finally truly over. Now they had to let go and leave the rest to the younger generation.

 “You’ll definitely be an awesome King, just like I was,” Lance teased him.

“That’s the plan,” Azul answered, smiling and waving at people leaving the ceremony.

A mermaid joined them, putting a kiss on Azul’s cheek. A small baby, Lance’s grandchild, slept soundly in her arms. He saw in the couple before him an image of his younger self with his late wife and young Azulito. His son had the same love in his eyes as Plaxum used to have when she looked at them.

“Your mother would be proud of you too,” Lance added.

Azul’s eyes turned to him right away. Lance saw sadness and then gratefulness cross his features. Suddenly, Azul was hugging his father again. He might not remember much of her, but Azul still loved her and listened to everything his father said about her. Lance was always talking about her intelligence, her beauty and her strength.

“Thanks, dad… For still being by my side,” Azul told him.

After all that had happened and torn apart his family

After all the war, all the pain and all the losses

Lance could finally live in peace

As his legacy prospered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this fanfic :)   
> Don't forget to leave kudos and comments if you liked it!  
> You can also follow/pm me on tumblr : prettygoo-d


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